so i thought i'd try my hand a blogging again. lets see how long i keep it up 'eh?

i've never put a lot of thought into pulling handles. it hasn't come as naturally to me as most other things in clay. so for a while now i've been loading up my extruder and have been extruding my handles. but no matter how i position them, or shape them, or whatever i'm just not happy with my handles. so tonight after i got the kids to bed i went out and pulled lots of handles. way more handles than i had mugs for. i did it very grudgingly at first. i didn't like it at all. i've still got a way to go but i'm starting to get the hang of it now. not to say i started to enjoy it, but i will say that my new handles are some of my favorites i've made so far. and they fit my cups much better than the extruded handles.

now meet my new studio companion! he's a bullmastiff and only 3 weeks old right now. i can't wait to get him home! i think i'm going to name him huxley after the evil character in Elmo in Grouchland. yeah, yeah, i know, but Kylie my 2yo is obsessed w/ that movie and mandy patinkin cracks me up in it. plus i like the name. isn't he cute!!

 i tried the rescue route, i really did. i found a really nice dogue de bordeoux that was raised w/ young kids and needed a home, but somebody got an application in before me. i'm a backup incase it doesn't work out but i've been told his new home is a good fit for him. my problem with the rescue mastiff type dogs i've seen is that i have 3 young children. i want a BIG dog. big dogs can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time and i just can't take the risk that one of these dogs could hurt one of my kids. most that i've seen are so damaged and it's heart wrenching, but i just can't take the risk. i know one could come along, but for reasons i'd rather not post here i'd like to have a dog sooner rather than later. so i went the puppy route which is definitely fun but oh so much work. but this way i can train him properly from the start and he'll be used to the kids from the get go. plus he's being raised w/ young kids which is a big plus in my book.

anyway, hopefully i'll be back soon lol. i don't get a lot of studio time because of my youngest. she's a special needs kid and we've been having some problems with her. but i'm hoping to keep you updated on my progress in the studio. i'm getting ready to start working on some new ideas and take some of my work in a different direction and i'm quite excited about it. so stay tuned!